Procedural Reminder: Delegates are reminded that at the PACMUN Conference, they are not expected to arrive with complete resolutions. Delegates are expected to prepare a policy statement that can be read in one minute and three solid operative clauses with which to caucus and kick-off debates. Resolutions are expected to emerge from the debates in the committees. TOPIC TRADE CONFLICT IN VENEZUALA CHAIR LOUIS GRELOT and SAM TAPLIN For years the United States has been using trade as a way of promoting democracy. They have large scale trading relations with countries that use their economic and political systems. However countries that are known to have especially brutal dictatorships are often subjected to sanctions by the U.S. Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Libya, The Republic of Congo, Somalia, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan and Syria are among those facing sanctions. During the cold war in Latin America the United States and Communist Countries were facing a trade stand-off which caused damaged relations in the world and now the same thing is happening again today. On February 24th 2012 Venezuela discovered an oil reserve off the shores of a small island: La Guardia Island, people began to dig in that area and found that there was a huge oil reserve the size of the Kuwait and Saudi Arabian reserves combined. Venezuela, already the country with the largest reserves of heavy crude oil and the largest reserves of oil in the western hemisphere can now dominate the oil market. A team sent from Trinidad and Tobago was removed by force when they tried to establish an oil foothold in the ocean between the two countries. Since then Venezuela has been producing oil at an incredible rate and has threatened to cut off trade with any nation that does not accept a socialist economic system. On March 2, 2011, a Trade Group comprised of Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea, China, Laos, Mongolia, Vietnam and Belarus decided to keep the oil to themselves. Their agreement states that only countries that accept socialism can join this trade allegiance. This action prompted countries such as Russia, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Iran, Egypt, Chile and some African Nations to consider these governmental changes. Alarmed by these events the United States, France, Britain, Italy and a few Middle Eastern nations threatened to cut trade with nations that engaged in Venezuela's Trade policy. China objected and on March 17th released a statement saying that they condemned this threat. China urged the U.S. to allow Venezuela to decide what to do with their goods. The Secretary General of the U.N., Ban Ki-moon, has called on Venezuela to open trade with all nations, he also warned the U.S. not to cut of trade with Venezuela. This sparked further conflict and the U.N. Political Committee has been called to meet and to find a solution to this dispute.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: - What is the definition of free trade? - What trade related UN policies exist? - Can and should sanctions be imposed on Venezuela who is using their oil reserves as leverage to promote their political ideals? - What should the UN do to help the nations broker a trade agreement? - How can the UN promote policy to ensure a long-term agreement to solve these problems? HELPFUL LINKS United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: http://www.unctad.org Map of Alliances created by the chairs https://docs.google.com/document/d/128OVCMFHsALw5cBy73iJn87WPh6fVvOrnivM0vVscqM/edit?hl=en_US
Procedural Reminder: Delegates are reminded that at the PACMUN Conference, they are not expected to arrive with complete resolutions. Delegates are expected to prepare a policy statement that can be read in one minute and three solid operative clauses with which to caucus and kick-off debates. Resolutions are expected to emerge from the debates in the committees. TOPIC CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS OF 1962 CHAIRS SAM TAPLIN and LOUIS GRELOT Please note that this is a reenactment of a 1962 crisis. Delegates must represent their country’s government at that time. - U.S.A.- heavily involved in topic - JFK is President - Scared of U.S.S.R. - France- New 5th Republic - fighting independence war in Algeria - led by Charles De Gaulle - Russia - U.S.S.R. - led by Nikita Khrushchev - UK-having economic success - led by Harold Macmillan - Cuba-New socialist government siding with U.S.S.R - Che Guevara and Fidel Castro lead the government - Venezuela- West allied democracy led by Rómulo Betancourt - Argentina- struggling democracy, led by José María Guido - North Korea-same DPRK, led by Kim II-sung - Iran- Under rule of U.S. backed Shah, led by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi - Laos- a monarchy facing communist insurgents - led by Savang Vatthana - Vietnam- will represent North Vietnam - led by Lê Duẩn - Italy-In economic success - led Antonio Segni - Spain-Ruled by Franco - Romania- Communist ruled by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej - Germany- ruled by Heinrich Lübke (democracy)(West Germany) - Chile- Democratic - led by Jorge Alessandri - Portugal-Dictatorship, led by Américo de Deus Rodrigues Tomás - Brazil-Struggling Democracy - Somalia- new Somali Republic, led by Aden Abdulle Osman Daar - Mexico -Mexico Miracle, (economic growth), led by Adolfo López Mateos - Guatemala - puppet government (after a U.S. set up coup) - controlled by U.S. - Led by Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes - Honduras - led by Ramon Villeda Morales - Unstable Government - Bolivia - led by Víctor Paz Estenssoro- Unstable Democracy - Myamar - New Military Dictatorship - Thailand - led by Bhumibol Adulyadej-Developing Western Democracy - Democratic Republic of Congo- In midst of political crisis - Saudi Arabia-Being ruled by king Saud of Saudi Arabia You will need to further research your country’s beliefs at the time, not current beliefs. As this is a topic that happened in history and was solved, the Chairs feel the need to remind delegates that they don’t have to come to the same resolution that was agreed on in 1962. From April 15th to April 20th, 1961, around 1500 Cuban exiles working with the CIA attacked Cuba in a planned secret invasion and landed in the Bay of Pigs. However, a week before that, USSR’s intelligence had found out about the plan and on April 12th, they warned their allies of what was likely to happen within the week. The exiles were met with 234,000 Cuban militia, police and army. After the event, Cuba agreed to closer relations with the Soviet Union and began planning to bring nuclear missiles to Cuba, only a few hundred kilometers from U.S. major cites. At the same time, the U.S. was arming its allies, Turkey and Italy, with nuclear weapons. Alarmed by the fact that the U.S. had positioned nuclear weapons so close to Moscow, the U.S.S.R. decided to equip their new ally, Cuba, with nuclear weapons. In May 1962, a Soviet delegation arrived in Cuba and presented Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader, with their idea. Worried that the U.S. might attack again, Castro accepted and by July 1962 the Soviet Union was building nuclear weapons in Cuba. By late October, the U.S. government had figured out that Cuba was planning on gaining nuclear weapons. On September 11th, 1962, the Soviet Union directly stated that should the U.S. attack Cuba, war would be declared; a nuclear war would therefore take place. By September 16th, 1962, the U.S.S.R. had already delivered two shipments of R-12 nuclear missiles to Cuba. Then on October 7th, 1962 Cuba warned the U.N. that if they were attacked, they would use “the weapons, which [they] would have preferred not to acquire, and which [they] do not wish to employ”. Until October 14th, 1962, no spy planes had been flown over Cuba due to the threat of missiles shooting them down and causing an international incident. However, on October 14th, 1962, a U.S. spy plane took photos of nuclear weapon construction sites giving complete validity to the idea that Cuba had nuclear missiles. The U.S. proceeded to block access to Cuba and stopped Soviet shipments. They also planned an attack on Cuba and on the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Cuba began preparing for a preeminent strike. By October 1962, the U.S., Turkey, Italy, Cuba and the U.S.S.R. were threatening to use their nuclear arsenals. The U.N. continues to promote democracy and is meets to find a peaceful resolution to this crisis. World peace and billions of lives are hanging in the balance. A peaceful solution must be found. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: - How can we solve the issue without starting a Nuclear War? - Can the U.N. acknowledge the U.S. blockade on Cuba as an act of war? - Can the U.N. acknowledge that building nuclear missiles in Cuba is an act of war? - Is the U.S. providing their allies with nuclear missiles an act of war? - Can the U.N. simply not act and hope this conflict ends? - Should the U.N. support the U.S.S.R., the U.S or remain neutral? - Is war inevitable? - What was the international community doing to understand and prevent (or provoke) this war? - What treaties and agreements exist in relation to armed conflicts? HELPFUL LINKS: United Nations information and article: http://un.org/en http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/chronicle/cache/bypass/home/archive/issues2011/pursuingpeace/preventivediplomacyattheUN?ctnscroll_articleContainerList=1_0&ctnlistpagination_articleContainerList=true Debate in the U.N. : http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1962-cuba-un1.html Kennedy Speech on Missile Crisis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W50RNAbmy3M&feature=fvwrel Background info of the Cuban missile crisis http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDcubanmissile.htm http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq90-1.htm http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/cuba-62.htm Letter from Khrushchev to Kennedy http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/x2jfk.html CIA World Factbook-Background Info on Countries https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
Political Committee Background Statement
Procedural Reminder: Delegates are reminded that at the PACMUN Conference, they are not expected to arrive with complete resolutions. Delegates are expected to prepare a policy statement that can be read in one minute and three solid operative clauses with which to caucus and kick-off debates. Resolutions are expected to emerge from the debates in the committees.
TOPIC TRADE CONFLICT IN VENEZUALA
CHAIR LOUIS GRELOT and SAM TAPLIN
For years the United States has been using trade as a way of promoting democracy. They have large scale trading relations with countries that use their economic and political systems. However countries that are known to have especially brutal dictatorships are often subjected to sanctions by the U.S. Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Libya, The Republic of Congo, Somalia, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan and Syria are among those facing sanctions.
During the cold war in Latin America the United States and Communist Countries were facing a trade stand-off which caused damaged relations in the world and now the same thing is happening again today. On February 24th 2012 Venezuela discovered an oil reserve off the shores of a small island: La Guardia Island, people began to dig in that area and found that there was a huge oil reserve the size of the Kuwait and Saudi Arabian reserves combined. Venezuela, already the country with the largest reserves of heavy crude oil and the largest reserves of oil in the western hemisphere can now dominate the oil market.
Alarmed by these events the United States, France, Britain, Italy and a few Middle Eastern nations threatened to cut trade with nations that engaged in Venezuela's Trade policy. China objected and on March 17th released a statement saying that they condemned this threat. China urged the U.S. to allow Venezuela to decide what to do with their goods. The Secretary General of the U.N., Ban Ki-moon, has called on Venezuela to open trade with all nations, he also warned the U.S. not to cut of trade with Venezuela. This sparked further conflict and the U.N. Political Committee has been called to meet and to find a solution to this dispute.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
- What is the definition of free trade?
- What trade related UN policies exist?
- Can and should sanctions be imposed on Venezuela who is using their oil reserves as leverage to promote their political ideals?
- What should the UN do to help the nations broker a trade agreement?
- How can the UN promote policy to ensure a long-term agreement to solve these problems?
HELPFUL LINKS
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development:
http://www.unctad.org
Map of Alliances created by the chairs https://docs.google.com/document/d/128OVCMFHsALw5cBy73iJn87WPh6fVvOrnivM0vVscqM/edit?hl=en_US
Council on Foreign Relations Publication:
http://www.cfr.org/economics/venezuelas-oil-based-economy/p12089
Central Intelligence Agency - Article
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ve.html
Political Committee Background Statement
Procedural Reminder: Delegates are reminded that at the PACMUN Conference, they are not expected to arrive with complete resolutions. Delegates are expected to prepare a policy statement that can be read in one minute and three solid operative clauses with which to caucus and kick-off debates. Resolutions are expected to emerge from the debates in the committees.
TOPIC CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS OF 1962
CHAIRS SAM TAPLIN and LOUIS GRELOT
Please note that this is a reenactment of a 1962 crisis. Delegates must represent their country’s government at that time.
- U.S.A.- heavily involved in topic - JFK is President - Scared of U.S.S.R.
- France- New 5th Republic - fighting independence war in Algeria - led by Charles De Gaulle
- Russia - U.S.S.R. - led by Nikita Khrushchev
- UK-having economic success - led by Harold Macmillan
- Cuba-New socialist government siding with U.S.S.R - Che Guevara and Fidel Castro lead the government
- Venezuela- West allied democracy led by Rómulo Betancourt
- Argentina- struggling democracy, led by José María Guido
- North Korea-same DPRK, led by Kim II-sung
- Iran- Under rule of U.S. backed Shah, led by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
- Laos- a monarchy facing communist insurgents - led by Savang Vatthana
- Vietnam- will represent North Vietnam - led by Lê Duẩn
- Italy-In economic success - led Antonio Segni
- Spain-Ruled by Franco
- Romania- Communist ruled by Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
- Germany- ruled by Heinrich Lübke (democracy)(West Germany)
- Chile- Democratic - led by Jorge Alessandri
- Portugal-Dictatorship, led by Américo de Deus Rodrigues Tomás
- Brazil-Struggling Democracy
- Somalia- new Somali Republic, led by Aden Abdulle Osman Daar
- Mexico -Mexico Miracle, (economic growth), led by Adolfo López Mateos
- Guatemala - puppet government (after a U.S. set up coup) - controlled by U.S. - Led by Miguel Ydígoras Fuentes
- Honduras - led by Ramon Villeda Morales - Unstable Government
- Bolivia - led by Víctor Paz Estenssoro- Unstable Democracy
- Myamar - New Military Dictatorship
- Thailand - led by Bhumibol Adulyadej-Developing Western Democracy
- Democratic Republic of Congo- In midst of political crisis
- Saudi Arabia-Being ruled by king Saud of Saudi Arabia
You will need to further research your country’s beliefs at the time, not current beliefs. As this is a topic that happened in history and was solved, the Chairs feel the need to remind delegates that they don’t have to come to the same resolution that was agreed on in 1962.
From April 15th to April 20th, 1961, around 1500 Cuban exiles working with the CIA attacked Cuba in a planned secret invasion and landed in the Bay of Pigs. However, a week before that, USSR’s intelligence had found out about the plan and on April 12th, they warned their allies of what was likely to happen within the week. The exiles were met with 234,000 Cuban militia, police and army. After the event, Cuba agreed to closer relations with the Soviet Union and began planning to bring nuclear missiles to Cuba, only a few hundred kilometers from U.S. major cites.
At the same time, the U.S. was arming its allies, Turkey and Italy, with nuclear weapons. Alarmed by the fact that the U.S. had positioned nuclear weapons so close to Moscow, the U.S.S.R. decided to equip their new ally, Cuba, with nuclear weapons. In May 1962, a Soviet delegation arrived in Cuba and presented Fidel Castro, the Cuban leader, with their idea. Worried that the U.S. might attack again, Castro accepted and by July 1962 the Soviet Union was building nuclear weapons in Cuba.
The U.S. proceeded to block access to Cuba and stopped Soviet shipments. They also planned an attack on Cuba and on the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Cuba began preparing for a preeminent strike.
By October 1962, the U.S., Turkey, Italy, Cuba and the U.S.S.R. were threatening to use their nuclear arsenals.
The U.N. continues to promote democracy and is meets to find a peaceful resolution to this crisis. World peace and billions of lives are hanging in the balance. A peaceful solution must be found.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
- How can we solve the issue without starting a Nuclear War?
- Can the U.N. acknowledge the U.S. blockade on Cuba as an act of war?
- Can the U.N. acknowledge that building nuclear missiles in Cuba is an act of war?
- Is the U.S. providing their allies with nuclear missiles an act of war?
- Can the U.N. simply not act and hope this conflict ends?
- Should the U.N. support the U.S.S.R., the U.S or remain neutral?
- Is war inevitable?
- What was the international community doing to understand and prevent (or provoke) this war?
- What treaties and agreements exist in relation to armed conflicts?
HELPFUL LINKS:
United Nations information and article:
http://un.org/en
http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/chronicle/cache/bypass/home/archive/issues2011/pursuingpeace/preventivediplomacyattheUN?ctnscroll_articleContainerList=1_0&ctnlistpagination_articleContainerList=true
Debate in the U.N. :
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1962-cuba-un1.html
Kennedy Speech on Missile Crisis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W50RNAbmy3M&feature=fvwrel
Background info of the Cuban missile crisis
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/COLDcubanmissile.htm
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq90-1.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/cuba-62.htm
Letter from Khrushchev to Kennedy
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/archives/x2jfk.html
CIA World Factbook-Background Info on Countries
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/